Sweet Potato Date and Coconut Cake

With Orange

It’s called clearing the backlog. Goodness me it’s taking so much longer than I’d anticipated. I baked this cake in September last year and have probably baked it 3-4 times more. Every time I boil or bake sweet potatoes I save some for my favourite cake and scone recipes. I seem to have a soft spot for sweet potatoes. What do you have a soft spot for? That ingredient that always seems to lodge itself in your list of ingredients without much thought or planning. But after a while you look back and wonder why you always include it. That is sweet potato for me…and apricots…and dates. I have to start making a list of neglected ingredients then go ahead and force myself to use them. I have never posted a recipe with beetroots for example…and healthy ingredients like wheat germ, or oats or quinoa or some of those so-called “ancient grains” like freekeh, teff, farro, kamut and amaranth.

Okay so next time I bake I shall most definitely add an “ancient grain” to my batter or make a quinoa salad or make some teff flatbread. Oh I’m already looking forward…but watch out I tend to be the worlds greatest procrastinator so it might take another 3-6 months. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. I’ve been bogged down the whole day trying to catch up, but it was kind of fun. I wish you a pleasant Sunday and a happy blogging.

click on to the recipe…

Ingredients

310g (2½ cups, ) self-raising flour

250g (½stick, 9oz) butter

180g (¾ cup, 6oz) sugar

2 eggs

½ cup cold mashed sweet potato

120ml (½ cup) milk

50g (½ cup) desiccated coconut

150g (1 cup, 6oz) chopped dates (I used dried dates)

2 tablespoons (30ml) orange juice

1 tablespoon grated orange rind (zest)

Please always remember to assemble all ingredients before your start

Grease and 8½” round tin or 8 inch square tin (pan) and line the base with parchment or greaseproof paper. Combine the dates with the orange juice and rind (zest), and mix thoroughly

.Sift the flour.

Cream butter and sugar

with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.

This is what the mixture looks like after adding the last egg

Fold in dates, coconut and sweet potato

This is what the mixture looks like after folding in

Stir in half the sifted flour and milk and then stir the remaining flour and milk.

The final mixture looks like this

Spread the mixture into the prepared tin (pan) and bake in at 325°C (160°F) for about 1¼ hours.

Remove from oven and then stand 5 minutes

and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

I iced with a little left over butter icing, sprinkled shredded coconut and decorated with mandarin segments and candied peel

Grease and 8½” round tin or 8 inch square tin (pan) and line the base with parchment or greaseproof paper. Combine the dates with the orange juice and rind (zest), and mix thoroughly. Sift the flour. Preheat oven to 325°C (160°F).

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.

Fold in dates, coconut and sweet potato.

Stir in half the sifted flour and milk and then stir the remaining flour and milk.

Spread the mixture into the prepared tin (pan) and bake at 325°C (160°F) for about 1¼ hours. Stand 5 minutes before turning on wire rack to cool. Decorate and ENJOY.

*I weigh the flour and butter, I do not use cup measures as the weight of a cup of flourtends to vary based on individual interpretation or publication, (from 125g to 130g to 155g per cup).

Cup measures based on 1 cup = 125g flour so that would be the US cup of 240ml, not the Australian Cup.

Points to Note:

Please note that oven temperatures are given as a guideline only. You may need to add or reduce the suggested temperature depending on your oven. I baked at 330°C (165°C) 1 hour then, reduced to 325°F (160°F) for the last 15 minutes. Total baking time 1¼ hours.

The cake is not very sweet. If you want it sweeter add 250g (1 cup) sugar.

I always weigh ingredients, especially the flour and butter. You can use cup measures, but please note if you scoop flour directly from the bag you will end up with 150-185 g of flour instead of the recommended 125g. I suggest you spoon the flour into the cup, heaping it up over the top, then slide a knife across the top to level off the extra. Be careful not to shake or tap the cup to settle down the flour or you will have more than you need. You can also sift the flour first then scoop. Best advice: use a weighing scale, you’ll get the best results. Cup measures based on assumption that 1cup = 125g flour so that would be the US cup of 237ml, not the Australian Cup.

51 thoughts

Hi Liz! Long time no see. Glad to see you’re busy blogging again. I will have to share with you a recipe I have for chocolate quinoa cake. I’ve made it many times and it’s absolutely delicious. My gluten-free friends have to fight off my non-gluten-free friends for a slice!

Hi Karen,
Belated New Year Greetings…I must say I’ve missed you a lot. But I wasn’t worried because I knew you’d pop up some day. I am so glad to see you. I was just trying to figure out what to do with my photos…the hard drive is full to capacity. I have to start pulling them out to another destination. This year alone I’ve taken 1,800 photos (shocking) rule number one now: slow down…
Perhaps you saw me lamenting how I never post recipes on quinoa, kamut, amaranth etc So you see you are saving the face of the blog by bringing that lovely quinoa cake. Please share the recipe asap (you can also bake and write a guest post.) I don’t mind either way. You’re a special lady so you are given the latitude to choose what you want. Please let me know how you want to go about it. My love and kisses to your whole family. I bet the boys are tall…maybe I’ll not even recognize them. I thought about you yesterday….Best wishes
Liz

You’re revealing a whole new baking ingredients universe for me, Liz! I’ve never used sweet potatoes nor coconut (yes, you’ve read it right!).
This cake looks so moist and delicious (and beautiful!) I about to take the first plane to Canada to go and have a piece with you 😉
Thanks for sharing another great recipe! 🙂
I hope you have the best of weeks (and stop removing snow from your doorway 😉 )

Hi Rosa,
Thanks for visiting me on Facebook. You should try using sweet potato and coconut. I’ve got a lot of coconut cakes on the blog. Ha ha you’re welcome to this cold end of the world for a cup of tea..We really hope there’ll be no more snow…until spring officially begins. Have a lovely Sunday and a great week ahead!
Liz

Not sure what my favorites are. I go through phases, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, almonds, citrus… Right now I have a tart crust cooling waiting to be filled with cream and strawberries. Almost made a loaf of bread today. My cookie dough is chilling to make coconut lime cookies for St. Patrick’s Day at school tomorrow. My dad is coming to dinner tonight too, boy am I exhausted! This cake looks so yummy too. I love sweet potatoes, just had one for lunch. I will have to try this sometime. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your Sunday.

Hi Mama D,
Your day seems to be so full and I really admire the way you’re still able to cope. You are so versatile. I keep my fingers crossed for you and hope everything will work out fine for you by the end of the day. I wish you all the best and a great week ahead!
Liz

Thanks! I survived by having my husband make me a cocktail! Then a glass of wine with dinner. He also grilled the salmon and washed dishes while I dried. Teamwork helps. It was a rainy day so with the boys cooped up it was loud and extremely wild…

Hi Mama D,
I’m so glad you managed to go through the day and thank God your hubby helped and even made a cocktail. I hope everything has finally settled down. I wish you a goodnight and the best of the new week! Take care and best wishes!
Liz

Sweet potatoes are something I often buy but then neglect to use! I will have to make this the next time I realize that I have some sitting around, waiting for me to cook them. I also love the combination of coconut, dates and orange — sounds like a fantastic cake all around!

Hi Jessamine,
Sweet potatoes are the only veggies I ever buy and use without delay. Please boil them, then mash them and turn them into a lovely cake. Dates are one of my favourites too. I wish you a happy baking and a wonderful week!
Liz

What a nice looking cake!
I wonder if I can replace sweet potato with cucurbita moschata pumpkin. It has similar texture.
(Sweet potato is a bit rare and expensive right now, because of the long drought)

Hi Hari,
You can replace the sweet potato with anything mashed that pleases your palate. Pumpkins is absolutely okay. I hope you are feeling much better after drinking hot water and white honey. Are you not sleeping? It must be 4.00am in the morning right now! Enjoy your Monday!
Liz

Hi Ummfathima
Thanks for visiting my blog and for complimenting. I wish you a happy baking and a lovely Sunday. I’ve enjoyed browsing your blog. You have wonderful photos. Thanks for the kind words too. Best wishes!
Liz

Oh wow, this looks amazing!
I have a sweet potato-banana breakfast bread in my blog, which I make quite often, but my soft spot would be oranges and lemons. They somehow find their way to most of my recipes… 🙂

Thank you, Liz! I hope you’ll like the results.
Lime would work for me too – I made a nice lime and dried apricot cupcakes not long ago. As long as it’s citrus, I’m all for it! 🙂
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Ronit